George & Lizzie

A Novel

"From "America's librarian" and NPR books commentator Nancy Pearl comes an emotionally riveting debut novel about an unlikely marriage at a crossroads. George and Lizzie have radically different understandings of what love and marriage should be. George grew up in a warm and loving family--his father an orthodontist, his mother a stay-at-home mom--while Lizzie grew up as the only child of two famous psychologists, who viewed her more as an in-house experiment than a child to love. Over the course of their marriage, nothing has changed--George is happy; Lizzie remains ... unfulfilled. When a shameful secret from Lizzie's past resurfaces, she'll need to face her fears in order to accept the true nature of the relationship she and George have built over a decade together. With pitch-perfect prose and compassion and humor to spare, George and Lizzie is an intimate story of new and past loves, the scars of childhood, and an imperfect marriage at its defining moments"-- Provided by publisher.

If you find fault with overly self-centered, selfish characters who look for others upon whom they may place their blame, I would suggest you not read this title. However, if you like that kind of character, by all means, go right ahead with this title. George was adorable and I feel like I need at least one of him in my life. Lizzie, however, will leave you with a sour taste in your mouth and often makes the reader (at least in my case) state "This woman," on multiple occasions, accompanied by a very judgemental eyeroll. Reader, you have been warned.

I didn't think I would like this book but then I did. I was so mad at Lizzie sometimes I wanted to strangle her. Other parts of the book made me chuckle deeply to my toes. I am going to buy a copy of George & Lizzie so I can underline and look up all the vocabulary words, literature and poetry references . I Lizzie acknowledges all the football players. I am truly sorry to my fellow SPL patrons for returning 4 days late with so many of you waiting. I just had to finish George & Lizzie!

There is no doubt that Nancy Pearl is a local treasure, recommending books for every taste and persuasion. I have loved listening to her on KUOW. When I saw she was publishing a book, I pumped my fist. Go Nancy! Congratulations for trying something new, for branching out and taking a risk.

With all of the advance promotion and anticipation, I was sorely disappointed by this book. I'm not sure what sort of story I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't a young woman trying to bury her sorrows with alcohol and drug use after deciding to have sex with her high school football team as a 'game'. As Nancy herself suggests, if a book doesn't grab you in the first 50 pages, you should walk away. I pushed the book away and then looked around for honest reviews. This seems to be a case of the Emperor Wears No Clothes. If it wasn't for Pearl's rock-star status, would this book have made it to publication?

GEORGE & LIZZIE is a book for readers who love characters. Imperfect -- and confused -- Lizzie will jump out at you from the beginning, and whether you immediately love her, as I did, or hate her, you must give her a chance, for along the way, you'll meet the wonderful Marla and James, and George's fantastic parents, Lizzie's not-so-fantastic parents, and George, of course.

Nancy Pearl talks about writing the kind of story she likes to read, and she's certainly written the kind I like to read as well: complex, messy characters who make choices in spite of themselves, writing and language full of energy, and an exploration of deep, long-time friendship. I was also pleasantly surprised at how pitch-perfect Pearl writes about Generation X; I went in, having read the "marriage at a crossroads" description, expecting to read about characters much older than George and Lizzie are, and I loved to instead see characters struggling through the same kinds of societal and generational challenges that I did. It is also to me not as much a story about a marriage as it is about choices and the tales we tell ourselves. I only wish I could have spent more time with George and Lizzie.